Mode Options

When you are in an input process, you can be in any of four modes, depending on the activities you intend to perform. You may switch between the four modes by clicking on the corresponding mode icon on the tool bar:

Add Mode allows you to add new records to a file.

Change Mode allows you to modify data for existing records.

Inquire Mode allows you to examine (but not modify) existing records in a file.

Delete Mode allows you to remove existing records from a file (note that there is a separate Acknowledge Delete option that you must select to complete the deletion action on a particular record; this option is discussed in the following section).

Each input process has a default mode, so that when you first enter the process you are set to one of the four modes automatically. The default mode is controlled by the design of your application, but you can change the mode at any time by selecting the desired mode option. In some cases, the application may be designed so that some of the modes are not available.